Arnesen row 'stinks', blasts Pleat

Spurs sporting director Frank Arnesen has been suspended by the club and White Hart Lane officials are considering what action to take after claiming their London neighbours made an approach "in direct breach of FAPL rules".

Chelsea insist their advances were official.

However Pleat, himself a former director of football at Spurs, is less than impressed with Arnesen's behaviour.

"I think Frank Arnesen, having secured a very good job in certain circumstances, has been rather disloyal to Tottenham, if he now needs to go - and he is obviously going for one reason," he said.

Pleat added: "When Frank was thinking of retiring from PSV, Tottenham came along, and I introduced him to them, to speak to him about how the football director relationship works.

"They came back and were obviously quite seduced by Frank, gave Frank a terrific opportunity here to continue his career in that role, gave him a contract at whatever money, and was more than happy to come - now a few months later, he is more than happy to go and that stinks a little bit, doesn't it?"

While Spurs claim Arnesen has been the subject of an illegal approach from the Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea insist their approach was above board.

The furore comes just days after Chelsea were fined £300,000 for "tapping-up" the Arsenal and England defender.

Pleat first joined Tottenham for a short spell as manager in May 1986, before later returning to White Hart Lane as director of football six-and-a-half years ago.

'There is no loyalty in football, sadly'

During that spell, Pleat stepped in to oversee three stints as caretaker manager before eventually being released in the summer to make way for the arrival of Arnesen and the ill-fated, brief reign of head coach Jacques Santini.

The 60-year-old believes Arnesen should continue to stand by Spurs, who gave the Dane a chance to work in England.

Pleat, however, accepts: "There is no loyalty in football, sadly."

He told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: "People have contracts and service agreements, but when players or staff move in 90 per cent of the cases, they have already had the whispers and an initial talk, then comes the formal approach because they do not make the formal approach until they are pretty sure the person who they are discussing is prepared to come."

He added: "I left last year in May and the morning after I had got the phone call from the chairman Frank Arnesen was in place.

"So exactly the same thing happened when he left PSV.

"Unfortunately football does not stand up when you talk about loyalty."